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Syrian children at Toronto hotel get aboriginal-themed welcome

Many ethnic backgrounds in the mix as young refugees at hotel get taste of indigenous culture and more.

Indigenous artists Veronica Johnny, right and Aqua Nibii Waawaaskone lead a singing and drumming workshop with Syrian refugee children at the Toronto Plaza Hotel on March 12, 2016. (Cole Burston / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

In a truly Canadian cultural mash-up, Syrian refugee children living at an airport hotel were treated to First Nations songs and drumming Saturday as a way to help them understand their new country more deeply.

Surely, only in Canada would young Syrians learn an aboriginal song, in English and Mi’kmaq, explained to them first in Arabic by a volunteer over the beat of indigenous hand drums — only to have the 80 kids, moments later, on their feet grooving to an Elvis tune (no translation needed) played by an Israeli-born guitarist while an Arab-speaking volunteer of Vietnamese background helps wherever he can.

This is how volunteer Toronto looks when it comes to play with new young Canadians stuck in an airport hotel while they wait for new homes. It’s noisy, chaotic — and bursting with life. Forget trying to track the cultural diversity in this room; it’s overwhelming.

“My heart goes out to these children who have lost their homes, and many of the songs we do are about healing,” said Veronica Johnny, a singer of Cree and Dene background. She performed traditional songs of welcome and healing fellow indigenous singer Aqua Nibii Waawaaskone.

They were the latest performers to take part in a cultural program being run every Saturday afternoon by Syrian-Canadian volunteers as a way to help welcome some of the 200 government-sponsored refugee children being housed temporarily at the Toronto Plaza Hotel on Wilson Ave. near Jane. St.

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The otherwise plain hotel meeting room came alive as volunteers hauled in toys and craft supplies for the Syrian children. Some of their curious parents slipped in around the edges, as the First Nations singers began the show by lighting sweetgrass for the captivated newcomers.

One song Johnny chose because of the turmoil the children have faced: “I am here. I am safe. I’m surrounded by love and grace.” A volunteer translator explained the words to the children in Arabic, but for some verses — like the rhythmic refrain “Haya haya haya ya” — they needed no help.

For two hours each weekend, these largely unprogrammed children, many of whom have never been to school, get to play with toys, learn a little English and get a taste of the cultural mosaic awaiting them in Canada.

“After the trauma they’ve been through, this gives them a chance to be just kids,” said Syrian-Canadian Leen Al Zaibak, who launched the program nearly two months ago after visiting the “refugee hotel” and seeing the kids running through the halls with little to do.

A group of volunteers set up the Syrian-Canadian Foundation and with the support of the Toronto Arts Foundation have brought in clowns, puppets, jugglers and musicians, as well as volunteers to help teach the children some English and a little about Canada.

“We thought, who better to welcome them to our country than the original inhabitants who have welcomed so many of us; they’re an integral part of our culture,” said Al Zaibak.

Ratna Omidvar, chair of Lifeline Syria, came out to the Toronto Plaza Hotel Saturday to see the innovative recreation program being run by volunteers.

“This is so unusual; the newest people to the country and the oldest peoples never get to talk to each other,” she said. “Here, it’s happening organically.”

This story has been updated from a previous version.

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